


Light in the Darkness

by DemonAngel606



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drama, Female Kuroko Tetsuya, Male GOM, Oppressive Government, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9488843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonAngel606/pseuds/DemonAngel606
Summary: Tetsuya Kuroko is an Inferior. She has no rights, no freedom, no protection. The only light in her dark life are the five blurred names on her wrist, the soul-mates she yearns, yet dreads to meet. Will she ever accept them? Will she finally find the love she's been looking for? One thing's for sure; Kuroko's life will never be the same.





	1. Prologue: Time

I'm glad I met them. Even while on the brink of death, I think, not of my own life, but of them. They are my soul-bonded; my missing pieces and I cherish them far above my own wellbeing. The only regret I have is that my death will cause them pain.

As I stare into the eyes of my captors, I know we have won. They may laugh, thinking themselves the victors, that I have been abandoned, but I have chosen to be the sacrifice that knocks them from their thrones. I can see the moment they realise, the instant they understand their demise, that look of horror spreading across their faces, and I smile, secure in the knowledge that my loved ones will live on, even if I cannot.

I can feel myself fading fast now, even as I try to cling to life. I made a promise after all. I promised I would hold on, I would wait for them to come to me. Even so, it won't be long now. I can hear their voices, even if I can't see them. Why can't I see them? My eyes flutter open to meet bloody crimson. The relief I see overwhelms me and he moves back, allowing others to enter my sight. I don't care if this is a dream, a mere figment of my imagination, I'll take it. I will enjoy their presence, their light, one last time. They look so anxious though, so worried. That isn't right, they should be happy. We won. I smile for them, hoping I can convey just how dear they are to me before my time is up.

It is difficult. My eyelids are so heavy, I just want to sleep. I fight them though, to prolong this moment, imperfect as it is, with them. Make it last as long as possible. They're saying something, something I can't make out. It's a losing battle. I'm fighting, but I'm losing. My eyes slowly close.

I know nothing more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to GeekyCat_Aydsa for writing Solitude's Light which gave me the inspiration for this story. I forgot to do this in the prologue so I'm doing it now. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

Tetsuya Kuroko woke to the sound of her alarm going off. Barely sparing it a glance, she quickly shut it off before springing out of bed, throwing on some clothes at random and racing downstairs.

Half an hour later, her father trudged into the kitchen, just as she was serving up a plate of eggs and bacon. Giving only a grunt of acknowledgment, he sat down and started eating. Kuroko remained standing, knowing from long experience that to say or do anything while her father was eating would only result in a beating. She tugged slightly on her sleeve, dragging it down so that it almost covered her hand, serving to also hide the silver wrist cover that marked her as being inferior. 

Once Kuroko Senior had finished, he left the table, not sparing a further glance for his daughter. This was fine by her, she merely took the plate and cutlery and washed them, putting them back in the cupboard once dry. She again waited for the front door to open, then close, signifying that her father had left for work, before racing to change into her uniform, grabbing her bag, and almost running to school, arriving just in time for morning assembly.

Kuroko, being an inferior, was situated at the back of the hall, out of sight of the Superior elite. She paid only peripheral attention to what the Principal was saying on the stage, and completely failed to notice the five boys sitting in chairs at the back. She zoned back in on what was happening when the thunderous applause penetrated her dazed stupor. "... And due to their own successes and upstanding in society it is my pleasure to welcome them to Teiko High School as the new Student Council Body." The Principal droned, as the five rainbow coloured boys came to the front of the stage, bowed, then all but one descended the steps at the side while the red-head took the microphone. 

Kuroko did not spare them another thought. She had been distracted by a nagging itch on her wrist, the same one that was covered where her the names of her soul-mates would one day be written.

As Kuroko made her way out of the Hall and to her first class, the itching in her wrist died down. She breathed a sigh of relief. She knew what the itching meant; it signified a first sighting of at least one of her bond-mates. She knew it was considered odd to have more than one, but there were rare cases where a person had two or more, or even no bond-mate at all. She barely gave it a thought most days, it was a struggle to get by with her life of servitude to the Superior Elite and try to stay under the radar as much as possible. Kuroko heaved a sigh as she sat down at her seat in class, subtly distracting everyone around her from her presence. She had long since learned that life was easier the less people noticed her.  
*****  
Back in the Hall, the new Student Council Members were holding an impromptu meeting. They too had felt the tingling in their own wrists and were very aware of what it meant.

"They're here! I definitely felt it!" Ryouta Kise could barely contain his joy, all his bond-mates could feel the exuberance through the bonds linking them together.

"Yes, Ryouta" said Seijuuro Akashi, smiling slightly at all the joy and anticipation he could feel from the others. The smile faded though upon pondering who their last bond-mate would be; the one with whom they would finally be complete.

"Who could it be?" asked Shintaro Midorima, who then blushed and blurted out; "not that I care, nanodayo." At his words, the rest of them sobered, trying to think of who it might be.

"Unfortunately, it could be anyone in the school. We will just have to look for them." Akashi decided, causing the others to nod in agreement.

" We should be discreet. It would be problematic if any of the students or teachers were to find out about this." Midorima suggested. "A good idea, Shintaro." Akashi approved. "It is a private matter and none of their business. Still, that will leave just you and me able to actively search for them."

"Hey!" Daiki Aomine exclaimed, offended at the implication in Akashi's words. Midorima sighed. "Aomine, you, Murasakibara and Kise have no sense of subtlety, you would only cause us to be caught."

Atsushi Murasakibara shrugged, continuing to gorge himself on the snacks in his bag while Kise pouted at Midorima's harsh words. Aomine descended into wordless grumbling, pissed but unable to deny the truth. He was many things, but subtle was not one of them, Kise was much to emotional to hide anything, and Murasakibara barely paid attention to anything other than his snacks.

"Leave things to us." said Akashi, "We will find them, for we are absolute." In the face of Akashi's words none of the other four could respond. They were filled with confidence that they would find their missing link, the one that would complete them.  
*****  
A week had passed and Akashi was ready to tear his hair out in frustration. He was no closer to finding out who his last bond-mate was than at the beginning of the week and he was beginning to get desperate. The bright lights on the stage had meant that he could not see the audience when he had stood up there and recited his speech, therefore his eyes had been unable to pick out who it was who had reacted to their presence in that hall. It was small consolation that Shintaro was having just as hard a time trying to track the person down. Neither of them had had any luck in finding whoever it was.

He heaved a sigh. There was just no helping it, he would have to keep looking.  
*****  
Kuroko had been keeping a very low profile for the week that Akashi had been searching. In spite of already having a weak presence, she had done all she could to further reduce any attention she may have gotten. She knew what the itchy tingling in her wrist had meant; one or more of her bond-mates had been in that hall with her. The school was very prestigious, she was one of only a handful of Inferiors allowed to attend which made it very likely that the person she had reacted to was a Superior. Kuroko dreaded the thought of them finding out their so-called 'soul-mate' was an Inferior. They would likely be disgusted and completely reject her, and that was not something Kuroko thought she could take.  
Inwardly despondent she made her way to the cafeteria. There Kuroko bought herself a small, cheap meal and then left in search of somewhere private to eat.

Settling under the shade of a cherry tree, Kuroko was just about to start eating when she heard a group of girls chattering only a short ways away. Heaving a sigh, she got up and left, careful not to be seen. She would have to find somewhere else to eat. Spotting a secluded area around a row of bushes, she stepped into the small alcove-like area only to find it already occupied.

The boy using the area seemed asleep, but to Kuroko's practised eye he was just faking it. Still, he did not open his eyes or give any sign that he had noticed her presence. He was very beautiful, Kuroko noticed. His blond hair was very striking and he had an athletic build. That wasn't what rooted her to the spot though, it was how fake the scene looked, like it had been artificially contrived.

Lost in contemplation, Kuroko failed to notice the boy open his eyes and get up. She did, however, hear him give a startled cry.

"When did you get here!" he whisper-yelled, arms wind-milling from surprise.

"About five minutes ago." Kuroko dead-panned. The boy gave her a stunned and confused look, like he didn't quite know what to make of the strange blue-haired girl standing in front of him.

"Right..." he trailed off. "My name's Ryouta, Ryouta Kise. And yours is?" He gave a charming smile that would have caused any other girl to swoon. Kuroko only looked blank. 

"Tetsuya Kuroko." she said at last. 

The smile grew larger and more winning. "So, Kuroko-chan," he began, a flirtatious lilt entering his voice, "can I convince you to pretend you didn't me here?" 

"No." 

Kise faltered, unused to not having any affect on a girl. 

"You also shouldn't smile if you don't feel like it." 

The incredulous look on Kise's face turned shocked. "But how did you...?" He got out, before taking a deep breath and giving a small, more genuine smile. "You are quite amazing, Kurokocchi."

Kuroko gave a slight start and stared at Kise, wide-eyed. "I'm not." she said quietly before turning away, holding onto her sleeve over her silver wrist-cover.

Kise dove forward, not wanting to let the strange girl leave. He had barely taken hold of Kuroko's hand when an electric current ran through them both, the force of a bond slamming into them. Kuroko, not having felt such a thing before, was frozen with shock and pain, before snapping out of her stupor and ripping her hand away from Kise's.

"Kurokocchi," Kise's voice was dazed, still out of things from the shock of finding his bond-mate. He barely had time to register that Kuroko's face showed nothing but fear before she turned and fled, leaving Kise staring after her in surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, if you want to read further I have more chapters up on ff.net but I will be updating on here weekly until I've either caught up or both are finished.


	3. Scarred Reminder

Chapter 2: Scarred Reminder

Kuroko ran, heedless of where she was going, knowing only that she had to get away from Kise as fast as possible. She dared not even look behind her for fear of slowing down. Eventually though, her horrible stamina got the better of her and she stopped, panting for breath. Straightening, she looked around, realising that she'd come to the secluded area of the park she always escaped to when things became too much, when life just seemed out to get her.

Sinking onto the fallen log that served as a bench, she buried her face in her hands, wondering what on earth she was going to do. She was bonded now, however much of an accident it had been. She just counted herself lucky that all the practise at controlling her facial expressions now meant she had the control to block the bond in her mind, not allowing Kise access to her thoughts and emotions and vice versa.

Rolling up the sleeves on her left arm, Kuroko stared at the silver wrist-cover in trepidation. Slowly, carefully, she flipped the catch and let it fall to the ground with a soft thud. She stared at her exposed wrist. Where there had once been smooth, unblemished skin was now the name 'Ryouta Kise' written in a deep gold untidy scrawl. A brief look of anguish passed across Kuroko's face before it was smoothed away. She turned her wrist over, hiding the name now etched there and picked up the fallen wrist-cover. Securing the silver ornament back in place, Kuroko resolved to avoid Kise as much as possible from now on, ignoring the small twinge of pain the decision caused. It was better for everyone that Kuroko kept her distance from someone as bright and Kise. She didn't want her darkness to taint such a pure soul.

*****

Kise could only stare at the place Kuroko disappeared, shocked at the turn of events. He barely registered the feeling of worry coming from his other bond-mates. He only came out of his stupor when they, unable to get a response from him, came to find him. He snapped out of his staring when a pair of emerald-green eyes moved into his line of sight. Midorima, trying and failing to hide the concern for his bond-mate, gently touched Kise's shoulder, sending a soothing wave of calm through the link they shared.

"Breathe." Kise heard, as though from a long way off. Automatically, he heeded the voice, dragging in a lungful of air, suddenly aware that he had stopped breathing entirely. Swaying, Kise sank to his knees, Midorima automatically following, keeping up a soothing stream of terse instructions while Kise struggled to control his shaking. Upon regaining control of himself, he looked up, eyes meeting crimson and gold.

"Ryouta," Akashi said, gentle yet commanding, "what happened?" "Akashicchi." Kise stopped, swallowed, takes a deep breath, and then said in reverent tones, "I found her."

"What?" Aomine asked, forehead creased in confusion, while Murasakibara paused in his eating to stare, slight puzzlement showing in amethyst eyes. Midorima’s face blanked while Akashi's eyes widened slightly in comprehension. Slowly, gently, he took Kise's left arm and undid the catch that secured the gold wrist-cover. Softly, he placed it on the grass and gazed at the uncovered wrist, bearing the names of everyone in the small hideaway, plus one more. Written in small, unobtrusive black letters were the words 'Tetsuya Kuroko'.

"Well," said Akashi, predatory smile blooming on his face, "this is a surprise. Good work, Ryouta." Kise beamed at the blatant approval in Akashi's voice. The smile dimmed, however, and Kise looked despondent as he said, "She doesn't want it." The rest of the Generation of Miracles snapped a look at Kise, incredulous and slightly alarmed expressions on their faces. "Kise-chin should not joke like that." Murasakibara broke the silence, returning to munching on his snacks. Akashi merely narrowed his eyes. "Explain." he said, tone brooking no argument.

"When, when the bond formed, and Kurokocchi realised what was happening, she looked so scared, and I felt... I felt utter terror through the bond, there was denial, disbelief, anger, but there was so much fear. She, she ran. I couldn't stop her. I'm sorry Akashicchi." Kise stuttered haltingly, voice shaking with remembered emotion. By the end of his recount, Kise was almost hysterical, sobbing into Midorima's arms.

Aomine frowned. "Wha-" he started angrily before being cut off by Midorima. "There are cases," he began, pushing up his glasses, "where the initial establishment of a bond is so intense that it can cause a panicked reaction, nanodayo." Kise looked up at Midorima's words and made an effort to slow his tears. "You think that's what happened?" he asked. "It is just one possibility, nanodayo." Midorima stated stiffly, blushing. "Thank you, Midorimacchi." Kise said softly, kissing Midorima.

"Kise-chin is fine now, right?" Murasakibara asked, munching on his bag of snacks but still looking at his blond bond-mate in concern. "I'm fine now, Murasakicchi." Kise replied, bestowing a beaming smile on the childish giant.

Akashi smiled indulgently before herding everyone back to their shared rooms. He decided to do some private investigating of their new bond-mate to ensure that she would fit seamlessly into their group. He was absolute, after all, and it would not do to be unaware of anything about her.

*****

By the time Kuroko had recovered enough to contemplate moving from her bench in the park, the sun was going down. Horrified at having lost so much time, she quickly scooped up her bag and raced home, hoping that she somehow managed to make it in time to have dinner ready for when her father came home and avoid his punishment. Reaching her house, she gently eased the door open, only to freeze when she saw the pair of shoes flung haphazard onto the shoe-rack. Luck was not on her side.

Removing her shoes and carefully placing them next to the others, she padded softly into the kitchen, stopping at the door upon seeing her father seated at the table, eyes trained on her. Refusing to allow any expression to cross her face, Kuroko looked down, avoiding the man’s stare. He seemed drunk, and that never boded well.

“Well?” he slurred, rising from his seat to loom menacingly over Kuroko. She, for her part, remained silent, experience having taught that it was the wisest thing to do. “What do yer have ter say for yerself?” he shouted, drawing a hand back. Kuroko again said nothing, knowing anything she did say would only make her situation worse.

The stinging blow to her face was expected, but no less painful, knocking Kuroko to the ground. A detached part of her mind noted her split lip and that her cheek would be swollen by morning. As a foot met her hip, Kuroko tuned out her father’s abusive raving, concentrating only on maintaining her poker-face. She was barely aware of the shields separating her mind from her new bond-mate’s weakening, allowing the pain to travel across the bond. Kuroko closed her eyes when her father began to unbuckle his belt, the passing thought that ‘tonight would be a bad one’ briefly crossing her mind before she turned all her attention toward enduring the pain and not making a sound.

When the beating was over, and Kuroko Senior had left the house, Kuroko slowly stirred and moved herself into a seated position to take stock of her injuries. She had several cuts and lacerations down her back and arms from being whipped with the belt, as well as what felt like bruises to her legs and head. There were no broken bones that she could detect but it would still be a few days before she would be capable of making it to school. Resigning herself to the inevitable, Kuroko began the long process of hauling her battered body to the bathroom to clean and bandage the worst of her wounds before collapsing in bed, her only consolation being that her father would not be back before she was recovered enough to perform housework.


End file.
